My journey to a healthy life

Set-Backs and Moving Forward

So I’m pretty frustrated. I mentioned that I exacerbated my injury (torn plantaris muscle) by pushing too hard, too fast on Friday. So now it looks like there will be no walking for me for 2 weeks, and no running for at least 6 weeks. This means that I need to completely re-think my entire fitness program for the time being. I can still work on upper body and core strength, but I need to take it easy on my leg, so my lower body strength will be limited. My cross-training tends to be DVDs (kickboxing, aerobics, dance, etc. ), Zumba, or dancing; so all of those are out right now as well. Someone mentioned that the recumbent bike at the gym might be pretty low impact on my leg, so I might try that, but I really don’t want to set myself back any further than I am now. This pretty much leaves the pool… swimming, water jogging or water aerobics.

I’ve been checking out the pool options in my area. There’s a community pool about a half mile from me. Its $55/ month for a swim pass and there are designated times when the pool is open for adult swim or lap swimming. The pool is closed for refurbishment right now until the 17th. The other option is the pool at my gym, which is included in my membership. The biggest drawback here is that its only a 2-lane pool so it can get kind of crowded at times. The other big issue is that my swimsuit is way too big for me now, so I definitely need a new one (and its the completely wrong season!). I’m going to see if there might be some clearance ones still available this week, because I think my best bet to stay on track is to get in the pool until I can walk/ run/ dance again.

Through all of this, my biggest fear is that I will fall back into my old habits, gain back the weight I’ve lost and be right back where I started. I am nervous that if I take too much time off exercising that I’ll never get back to it. I know that I have mentioned this before, but its the biggest obstacle in my mind right now. I am trying to remain positive and focused on what I can do rather than dwelling on what I can’t do, but there are days that I just want to push myself and ignore the pain, but I know that is not the solution and will only make things worse in the long run.

So now I am working on a new plan and putting together some new goals. I have also picked out some rewards to help me through this down time and keep me focused. As I finalize the new plan, I’ll post it for everyone here. Plus I’ll be starting to prepare for my personal trainer certification as soon as my materials arrive (should be next week!), so I’m hoping that will help to keep me on track as well.

In the meantime I am using the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) method and riding the bus. I’m on my feet all day at work, but am trying to be mindful of my injury and not put too much pressure on the injured muscle, or flex my foot in a way that pulls on it. Stairs are a little tricky right now, but thankfully there aren’t very many of them that I have to deal with and if I lead with my right (uninjured) leg, then I can avoid pain… I just have to remember that when I hit stairs (I don’t always). A few people have recommended foam rolling to me as well, so I am going to give that a try to see if it will help as well.

Do you have any suggestions for fun workouts that won’t stress my injury?

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One response

Ice and heat therapy, massage the area lightly so that it helps work out the inflammation. I realize you don’t care for pain medication but Naproxen sodium (aleve) helps with muscle inflammation which really can help. There are also topical solutions. As far as recumbent bikes, I don’t know how much use it would be…but I think that the best thing you can do is rest the leg as much as possible. With an injury like this, it needs time to heal – I wouldn’t recommend working out with it at all for a while. Don’t lose faith in yourself – everyone has forced downtime sometimes…we can’t always be machines in perfect working order. Consider it a test for yourself. I have faith that while your leg heals, and your wings have been clipped for a while, you will do just fine. Be mindful of yourself and everything else will follow. Get well soon, my friend.